During the Galactic Civil War, Galactic Empire Minister Veris Hydan led an excavation of the Lothal Jedi Temple. He did this on the orders of Emperor Palpatine, who wished to gain access to a portal inside the temple that gave access to the World Between Worlds. The Empire had become aware of the temple after two Imperial Inquisitors, Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister, tracked the Jedi Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger as well as the former Jedi Ahsoka Tano, there around the year 3 BBY. During the excavation, one of the doors of the temple was removed, stone by stone, and transported offworld. The doorway contained one portal to the mystical Force realm.
The excavation uncovered a painting of the three powerful Force-wielders, the Father, Daughter, and Son, which Hydan correctly deduced had a connection to the portal he sought. In the year 1 BBY, the Spectres, a group of Rebels, undertook a mission to the temple. There, Ezra and Sabine Wren snuck into the excavation site disguised as scout troopers. The two figured out how to activate the portal before Sabine was caught and unmasked, and Ezra entered the World Between Worlds. The excavation ended after Ezra, upon returning to Lothal through the portal, activated the painting of the Mortis gods in such a way that the Jedi temple was permanently destroyed, preventing the Empire from accessing that portal.